Northern Irish developers McAleer & Rushe bought thebuilding for euro 69.80 million ($89.59 million) in 2004. Theexisting Swiss Centre is a largely empty 1960s building whose16-story tower blocks a protected view. The new building has beenrestricted to 10 stories and it means hotel guests on the top floorwill have uninterrupted views of the Palace of Westminster on theone side and Parliament Hill on the other.

In a separate move, the council also gave consent to convert theHippodrome at the opposite end of Leicester Square to the SwissCentre into a casino. Plans for a euro 11.88-million($15.24-million) restoration of the venue were submitted inFebruary. Casino and leisure specialists Simon Thomas, Jon Shipleyand Peter NcNally want to transform the Grade II listed buildinginto a members-only casino and cabaret club.Plans to create acasino to the Hippodrome involve rearranging the 64,200-sfnightclub to add 2,400 sf and also include a card room, restaurantand bar. The refurbished venue is scheduled to open in spring2008.

The Hippodrome was built in 1900 for variety performances andbecame a cabaret restaurant in the late 1950s. It was turned into anightclub in 1983. The property has been empty since October 2005,when nightclub operator Lucid Entertainment failed to get a newlicense. The restaurants and amusement arcade to the rear of thebuilding will be unaffected by the scheme.